Linkshoch Wonderful Movie

GamerTab That was an excellent one.

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

Fleur Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

Parker Lewis What a touching documentary! It was spellbinding! I saw this about a decade ago on DVD and it was interesting listening to the director's commentary about how he approached the suspenseful ending where he didn't want to focus on the winner alone. Instead he wanted to celebrate the achievements of all.I was shocked to hear about the untimely death of Ted Brigham, one of the contestants featured, in 2007 while doing pre-med studies. I'd like the director to do a remake of the documentary with the current crop of contestants. There's some chatter about the high proportion of Americans of Indian descent comprising the finalists, and for the sake of free speech the documentary can consider this angle, the elephant in the room. The director should consider whether spelling bee competitions are popular in India.

Syl The film director deserves accolades for taking the National Spelling Bee in Washington D.C. to different heights. He focuses on eight competitors who are all about in middle school. They come from Amarillo, Texas; Washington D.C.; San Clemente, California; Tampa, Florida; Ambler, Pennsylvania; New Haven, Connecticut; Glen Rock, New Jersey; and Rolla, Missouri.The documentary introduces you first to Angela who is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. She won the Amarillo Regional Spelling bee. There is Ashley who lives in Washington D.C. There is Neil, the son of Bangladeshi immigrants, who lives in Southern California. There is April from Ambler, Pennsylvania. There is Emily from New Haven, Connecticut who plays the violin. Ted comes from Rolla, Missouri. They come from rural, urban, suburban areas. They come from single parents, both parents, and socio-economic backgrounds. They all have one dream to win the National Spelling Bee and you're there for the ride.I would recommend this documentary for middle school students and teachers. They might find this worthwhile.

from_christmas_past The film starts with personal lives and motivations of eight spelling bee contestants in 1999 and culminates in a thrilling climax with the crowning of the champion. A lot of nail biting moments in the documentary are provided by the contest itself and cannot be attributed to any special efforts by the director. However, digging a little deeper, the documentary is exactly what it should be. It does not try to take any limelight away from the actual competition. Instead, through the stories of the hand-picked eight contestants, the film attempts to answer any and all questions that people are most likely to have while watching an arcane competition. Questions like- why do they do it? how do they feel? what motivates the parents?- may remain unanswered when the contest is televised. So, each significant moment in the bee is complemented with emotional interpretation of it through the eyes of the parents and participants. The documentary leaves you with a sense of satisfaction and wonderment. this is not only because the stories are exciting, but also because the director has laid out a minimalistic, yet adequate, framework to explore spelling bee and the people in it.

ARossMartin What makes good storytelling, I think, are good characters -- compelling and complex. More and more, documentaries are relying on a good story well told by either the filmmaker (Spellbound) or the subjects (Inlaws and Outlaws). Here, the themes are not terribly complex but they are genuine and heartfelt, owed in the main to the subjects who are all young kids competing for the National Spelling Bee Championship. Following a nicely diverse group of kids through the trials of training for the national bee and going through the various regional steps to get there, there's a compelling view of Americana -- the true Americana where the desire to succeed spans cultural and geographical boundaries I was most moved by the farm girl's family that sacrificed so much to get their daughter to the bee. You could see that fear and pride in the promise that one's children might actually do better than you.The one storyline that seemed uneven was that of the Indian-American family from LA. Perhaps the filmmakers intended our take on the father's obsession with his son's success to be ambivalent but it didn't resonate emotionally. If there was tension there in the father/son relationship, I didn't feel it. In any case, this is highly entertaining and completely absorbing.